Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as president and CEO and stepped down from the companys board on Thursday, effective immediately. The board named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO.
Kress will retain her role as CFO while Nvidia‘s board considers internal and external candidates for the permanent CEO role. The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones its first chair and said it expects Nvidia’s operations to proceed without interruption.
Nvidia shares fell more than 13% shortly after the US market opened on Thursday, trading at $151.00 as of 2:31 p.m. UTC, according to Yahoo Finance. Bitcoin (BTC) fell alongside Nvidia shares, dropping as much as 3.5% to a multimonth low.
The shares later pared losses to trade at $165 at 4:24 p.m. UTC, down 5% on the day. The stock was down more than 26% over the previous month.
Nvidia shares declined sharply over the past month. Source: Yahoo Finance
Kress has served as Nvidias CFO since September 2013 and previously held finance positions at Cisco and Microsoft.
Nvidia is scheduled to report its fiscal 2027 third-quarter financial results on Nov. 17.
Huangs resignation follows foreign intelligence investigation
Huang‘s departure comes just four days after Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation amid reports that the companys co-founder had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The board said it had no reason to believe US national security or Nvidias confidential information had been compromised, but would examine all available information.
In a separate message to employees that day, Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair and apologized to his family and colleagues. He also pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
The Associated Press identified the woman involved in the affair as Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. The New York Times reported that US intelligence agencies had concluded she was passing information to Beijing. China has denied targeting Huang.
On Tuesday, Nvidias independent directors retained former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the inquiry.
On Wednesday, reports said Nvidias board was preparing to remove Huang as CEO.
Timeline of events leading to Jensen Huang's resignation. Source: CointelegraphNvidias rise to $5.5 trillion under Huang
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and served as its CEO for more than 33 years, overseeing its transformation from a graphics-chip maker into a leading supplier of AI processors. His departure marks the first CEO transition in the companys history.
Nvidias market capitalization surged from approximately $57.5 billion at the end of 2016 to a peak of $5.5 trillion on Sept. 1, 2026, a nearly 96-fold increase, according to data from Stock Analysis.
Amid Nvidia‘s sell-off, Huang’s estimated net worth fell to $140.6 billion as of 3:42 p.m. UTC Thursday from $162.2 billion on Nov. 9.
Congressional scrutiny continues after resignation
House lawmakers still want to question Jensen Huang about his contacts with Alice Huang and Nvidias safeguards against foreign espionage, Rep. John Moolenaar said Thursday.
“We are in discussions with him right now on a date to come and meet with us,” Moolenaar told reporters, according to Politico.
Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, and fellow committee chairs Rick Crawford and Brian Mast first requested a closed-door briefing in a Nov. 4 letter. They cited concerns about Beijings access to sensitive US technology and information and asked Huang to confirm by Nov. 11 whether he could attend on Nov. 18 or to propose another date.
Moolenaar said the lawmakers were prepared to subpoena Huang if they could not agree on a date. He also wants to determine whether Chinese intelligence gained access to sensitive information and examine Huangs lobbying to ease US restrictions on advanced chip exports to China.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was considering forming a subcommittee to investigate the matter when the new Congress convenes in January.